January is an exciting time, we are packed full of hope for the year ahead. But there’s also one less exciting thing that needs to be done and that’s your tax return. Boo Hiss….we hate having to do our accounts! We can’t offer much advice for this years return (it needs to be done online by the end of January by the way) but here are our Top Tips to make next years paperwork goes more smoothly.

1. Create a spreadsheet with all your incomings and outgoings listed per month. If you base this on your accountants sheet you shouldn’t go wrong but if you don’t have one, then as long as you record money spent and money earnt broken down into categories such as Rent, Petrol, Marketing etc you can’t go wrong.

2. Keep this up to date..fill it in every month! Don’t let it slip…..it will make January easier but also will mean you know how well you are doing as you go along.

3. Keep all your receipts, every single one. Remember you can claim for all sorts of things such as toilet roll if you work from home and washing powder if you wash clothing before you sell it.

4. You don’t have to print all your receipts as proof but you need to keep them. Set up a folder online and file them in case anyone wants to see them in the future.

5. An easier way to track your spend is to get a business credit card and pay for everything, however small, on it. Then you only need to keep the bill rather than realms of receipts.

6. Finally if you can afford it, pay a book keeper to visit you every month for a few hours. This is a good idea if paperwork isn’t your thing. Even for 6 months as this will give you enough time to get into the routine of doing your admin.

Good Luck everyone……maybe make this one of your New Year Resolutions!

For tonnes more business advice, inspiration and motivation aimed at small vintage businesses visit us at Vintage Academy